Southern Semester

Study the South in the South

Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, offers a unique opportunity to learn about and to experience the people, history, and culture of the U.S. South. Students from American and international universities may apply to spend a semester at Mercer taking classes with scholars of the South, living in the South, and earning college credit.

Southern semester students take four courses in different disciplines related to the South. The courses build connections among the region’s literature, culture, history, and politics, so students gain an understanding of how the region developed over time, how racism developed as a social problem, and how the South generated a distinct culture.

Southern semester students also explore parts of the South related to their courses, meet with visiting scholars and learn about their research, and enjoy the experience of a liberal arts college in a historic and vibrant southern city.

Mercer University is consistently ranked as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the South. Classes at Mercer are small, usually less than eighteen students, so all students receive direct attention from their professors. Students have a strong sense of community, and Mercer is noted for its students’ engagement with community service. The campus, near downtown Macon, features historic buildings, state of the art student amenities, and beautiful green spaces.

Mercer offers a unique, interdisciplinary program in southern studies that focuses exclusively on undergraduate students. Southern studies students learn about the history, culture, literature, geography, economics, and politics of America’s most complex and most fascinating region. The program offers a bachelor’s degree in southern studies. It also hosts the Lamar Lectures, the most prestigious series of lectures on southern history and culture, it awards the Sidney Lanier Prize for Southern Writing each year to an author who has made significant contributions to southern literature, and it holds lectures and films that are open to Mercer students.

Macon, Georgia, is a city of more than 150,000 in central Georgia, about ninety minutes south of Atlanta. Famous as the home of southern rock music, the city has the charm of a small town and the amenities of a larger city. Macon’s history is a microcosm of the South. Once the site of a large Native American city, Macon grew as a trading center for cotton plantations in central Georgia during the nineteenth century and was a center of textile production in the twentieth century. Now, Macon has a diversified economy, exciting nightlife, and a comfortable pace of life.

Apply for Southern Semester

To apply for southern semester, international students from Mercer University partner institutions should contact Nicole H. Baker, International Student Advisor & Scholar Services Coordinator. Requirements to apply as an Exchange Student and the cost of attendance can be found on the online application portal. Note: Students attending universities with reciprocal exchange agreements with Mercer use their home institution rates for tuition.

Partner Institutions

Al Akhawayn University, Morocco

Hong Kong Baptist University, China

Karlsruhe University, Germany

Linnaeus University, Sweden

Seinan Gakuin University, Japan

University of Bamberg, Germany

University of Chichester, England

University of Essex, England

University of Seoul, South Korea

University of Strasbourg (Ecole de Management), France

Univesity of Sussex, England

University of Western Scotland, Scotland

Yonsei University, South Korea

For all other international applicants that do not currently attend one of Mercer University’s partner institutions, please contact Megan Roberson, Assistant Director of Admissions and International Recruitment.